Poison Ivy
by highland laurel
Summary: Daniel,Yadkin and Mingo find a pioneer family traveling alone, and their offer of help brings all manner of calamity into their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Yadkin awoke as the thick gooey mass splattered against his left cheek. He lifted his hand and gingerly brushed his cheek. "Yep," he thought to himself, "great way to start the day." He sat slowly and leaned over, flicking the bird dropping from his cheek in disgust.

Beside him Mingo's deep even breathing indicated that he slept the sleep of the blessed. Opposite the campfire Daniel lay on his side, also breathing deeply. With an irritated growl, Yad stood and bellowed, "Get up, you lazy varmits. The birds and beasts are trespassin' all over us and I'm hungry!" Mingo jerked awake and sat up with his knife in his hand. Daniel rolled several feet and also came to rest with his knife in his hand. The two startled men glared angrily at their buckskin-clad friend who stood laughing in the center of their camp. Sharing an annoyed look, Mingo and Daniel stretched and also stood. Yadkin banged the metal pot against the fire ring as the newly revived blaze started to burn.

"What's got into you, Yad?" Daniel asked as he knuckled the sleep from his eyes.

"Got hit with a bird bomb and just decided to punish you two for the privilege."

"Rather a cold-hearted way of displaying friendship, Yad," Mingo said, his irritation still evident.

Grinning, the tall blonde frontiersman continued his breakfast preparations. Mingo rolled his blanket and readied his pack. Across the camp Daniel did the same. The three men were only four days away from Boonesborough and they were anxious to get back. Their trip to Williamsburg had been stressful. The information each man carried was identical and they had traveled separately in case of capture. But all three arrived in the Virginia capital safely and were relieved to find each other. They started back to Boonesborough before dawn the following day.

Suddenly Mingo raised his eyes. He tilted his head in a listening pose. Across the camp Daniel noticed his friend's attitude and eased his gun into his hand. Yadkin continued to bang the camp equipment and the noise made listening difficult. Daniel frowned in annoyance as Mingo crouched and slipped silently through the summer grass. Daniel crawled to Yad and hushed his friend's rowdy preparations. The blonde man flattened beside his friend as they strained to hear Mingo's signal. It came through the morning air, a sweet trilling sound. Daniel replied and crawled to Mingo's side. Yad trailed behind.

Across the waving summer grass the three men could see a wagon, two oxen, and three people. Two appeared to be women, and one a young man. The wagon was listing to one side as one of the wheels turned misshapenly. One of the oxen seemed to be lame, and the other was speckled with what appeared to be buckshot. The older woman wore a sling around her left arm and the young man had a bandaged leg. There seemed to be no injuries to the young woman. The three friends watched the travelers for several minutes, exchanging puzzled glances.

Finally Daniel stood and hallooed. The three strangers stopped nervously. The man raised a gun awkwardly. He had trouble balancing the heavy weapon with only one good leg. Daniel raised his hand in the universal gesture of friendship. Mingo and Yadkin rose to stand beside Daniel, their hands likewise raised in friendship.

Approaching closer, the three Kentucky men could see that the outfit was even more untrailworthy than they had previously thought. The misshapen wheel was hopelessly broken and poorly mended. Another wheel was missing several supporting spokes. The wagon's splintered boards and chipped chassis caused it to tilt crazily. The yoke was cracked and the tongue mended, and both oxen were thin. The lame one was barely able to stand on his injured foot and the other did indeed have a load of buckshot in its red hide. All three men exchanged another look, this time one of disbelief.

"Howdy, there. I'm Daniel Boone, this is Yadkin and this is Mingo. You folks seem to be in need of some help."

The older woman strode forward and extended her right hand. "Howdy yourself. I'm Milly Moss, and this here is my boy Rocky and my girl Ivy. We're pleased to meet 'cha."

The three tall men nodded their greetings to the three travelers before them. Up close two of the three people were even more banged-up than they had seemed from a distance. Milly not only had her left arm in a sling but she had a bright red sunburn. Rocky's leg wound was joined by a knot on his forehead and a burned left hand. Ivy seemed to be totally uninjured.

Mingo recovered before his companions and assumed his most courtly manner. "Please be our guests at breakfast. Our camp is only a few hundred yards west. We don't have a feast, but we are willing to share our provisions."

Daniel nodded and added, "Yad and I'll bring your team and wagon. You three go on with Mingo and we'll be along soon."

The three newcomers looked carefully at Mingo's tall frame. They looked at his long black hair, his clothing, his beads, his whip and his knife. Then they looked into his dark eyes. The three exchanged a long look, then Milly stepped forward. "Thank you, Injun. Breakfast sounds mighty good. We ain't had a good meal in days. Lost most o' our supplies a ways back when the wagon went down the hill. Let's go, kids."

Milly strode forward towards Mingo, who turned and shot Daniel a look that said 'Come quick'. The Cherokee accompanied his three guests and was soon out of earshot. Daniel turned to Yad and shook his head.

"Kind o' reminds me o' Jasper Ledbetter's Lucy. You never met her. We'd best hurry before Mingo gets into trouble."

Yad nodded his head. His hand brushed his cheek where the bird had deposited the morning's first warning. A shudder ran through his body as he grabbed the near ox's horns and pulled the wounded animal towards the peaceful camp.

The two men heard Mingo's voice raised in aggravation long before they got the weary oxen to camp. Daniel turned to Yad and grinned. They could plainly hear Mingo's words as he argued with Milly Moss.

"Madam, let me finish the coffee my way please."

"But hit won't have no strength, Injun! You got it way too weak. Hit'll be like water. Here, let me."

"Madam, it is my coffee and my pot. I will brew it my way." Mingo extended his left hand to ward off the large woman's advances as his right clutched his embattled coffee pot.

Rocky sat as far away from the campfire as possible. It was as though he mistrusted everything about the camp. He kept his eyes on his sister, who stood motionless near the fire. As Dan and Yad approached they saw Mingo shift his weight as he balanced himself between Milly Moss and his coffee pot. Suddenly the pot slipped from Mingo's hand as though it had been pulled with a string. The water doused the fire as the ground coffee spilled onto the ground.

"There now, see what you done? If you'd a let me brew hit, we'd have a good brew now instead of a dead fire and no coffee!"

Mingo rose to his full height, his face taut and his eyes narrowed. Dan could see his friend biting back the angry words that were rising in his throat. He stepped beside Mingo and took his arm. "Why don't you get some more firewood Mingo? This here is all wet. Yad, you get some more water. Mrs. Moss, why don't you sit and rest? I'll make another fire." Dan nodded to Yad and Mingo. They turned to do Daniel's bidding, leaving the tall pioneer alone with the Moss family.

"Have you been travelin' long?" he asked politely.

"Only since Tuesday." Milly heaved a deep sigh and sat on her ample rear end.

Daniel frowned. The oxen and wagon looked like they had been traveling for at least a month, and over hard ground. He looked up and met Ivy's unusual green eyes. They were a light, vivid green. Just the color of her namesake. She smiled shyly. Daniel heard Rocky snort and shift farther away from his sister.

Suddenly there was a yell and Yadkin dashed back into the camp, swinging his arms madly. The water splashed from the coffee pot, wetting Daniel's brown hair. Milly let out a yelp, then Rocky yelled and leaped from his rock as fast as his wounded leg would let him. Ivy stood completely still. A sharp sting stabbed Daniel's neck, another under his right eye. He jumped up and ran as fast as possible into the nearby forest. He met Mingo coming back with an armload of wood.

"Bees!" Daniel shouted as he dashed past his frozen friend. Mingo dropped the firewood and followed Daniel into the forest. After a quarter of a mile they stopped. Daniel inspected the stings on his arms while Mingo dabbed mud on his neck and face.

"You've got a dozen stings or more, Daniel. What happened?"

"I don't rightly know. Yad came runnin' back yellin' and then the bees got me. Ever'body ran a diff'rent direction."

Mingo looked into Dan's eyes several seconds, then shook his head. "Well Daniel, I have an unsettling feeling that we are going to regret ever setting eyes on the Moss family. Maybe they've all run away and we won't see them again."

From behind his rapidly swelling eyelids Daniel looked at his friend and nodded in hopeful agreement.

After a breakfast of corncakes and coffee, the three travelers and the three Kentuckians settled down to digest the meal and get acquainted. Daniel, Yadkin, Rocky and Milly all sported an array of mud-spackled bee stings. Ivy and Mingo were unscathed.

This immunity caused Mingo to feel a bit strange and he made it a point of staying as far from Ivy as he could without hurting her feelings. He couldn't help but notice that Rocky was doing the same. The young man constantly eyed his sister, his unease plain in every line of his battered body.

Mingo also couldn't help but notice that Ivy seemed very taken with Yadkin. Her remarkable green eyes never left the buckskinned frontiersman. Evidently Yadkin was also aware of her fascination. The ruddy blonde took Mingo's cue and stayed as far away from Ivy as possible.

Milly's high-pitched voice told the family's tale of woe. "So ya see, Mr. Boone, me and the younguns just had to leave that little burg. Ever'body there was certain sure that my Ivy was a Jonah. Why, the day couldn't end without somebody chuckin' a rock at our cabin. Ever' time it thundered you'd a thought the world was comin' to a end, the way them folks took on. Ever' accident was Ivy's fault, ever' sickness was Ivy's doin'. Plumb silly they was."

Yad, Mingo and Daniel all glanced at the slight girl with the bright green eyes. She sat quietly on a fallen log, her skirt neatly arranged around her feet. There was no evidence of anything unusual about the girl. Yadkin cleared his throat and addressed Mrs. Moss.

"Don't none o' your tale make sense, Ma'am. How could a little slip of a girl cause all that calamity?"

Everyone sitting around the fire plainly heard Rocky snort. The young man stiffly rose and limped out of the camp. Yad and Daniel exchanged a look of suspicion. Milly continued her tale.

"Exactly right, Mr. Yadkin. Ain't no way possible. All acts o' providence they was. My Ivy is a sweet child and no more to blame for ever'thin' that happens than the man in the moon." Milly rose and patted her daughter's slight shoulder. The girl hung her head in embarrassment.

"Well, Daniel, Mrs. Moss. I believe that we should be on our way. I suggest that we leave the wagon here and send a party back from Boonesborough to gather your belongings in a few days. The two oxen can rest and graze in the meantime." Mingo's reasonable suggestion was met with a nod from Milly Moss.

Daniel nodded at his friend and began to gather the camp equipment. Yadkin devised a pack from a scrap of canvas and helped Mrs. Moss rescue the bare necessities from the wagon. Mingo tidied the camp and released the oxen to graze. The weary, wounded beasts gratefully grunted as the heavy yoke released their necks. They slowly moved apart and began to eat the abundant grass.

An hour later the party began their four day trek to Boonesborough. Eight days later they would arrive with an unbelievable story to tell.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

On the afternoon of that first day the clouds began to gather in dark billowing masses. The three Kentucky men scattered to look for a sheltering cave. The Moss family continued to walk steadily through the forest towards the settlement. As thunder started to rumble above them Daniel, Yad and Mingo came back together and reported. Daniel had found a small cave about a half-mile to the north. The entire company followed him and ducked inside. Mingo and Yad dropped their packs and hurried to gather as much firewood as possible before the storm broke. Daniel rushed to fill the coffee pot with water from a nearby spring. The other three stood looking out of the cave mouth as the dark clouds brought an early twilight.

Daniel came back into the cave first. He unpacked the rest of the camp equipment as Mingo came back with his arms full of dry wood. There was no sign of Yadkin. Daniel and Mingo exchanged a look of unease. Suddenly they heard the blonde man shouting for their help. Running side by side, the two friends burst through the trees to find Yadkin up to his hips in a deep hole. He was sinking fast.

"Hurry, Dan'l. This here sinkhole is goin' to gobble me up!"

Mingo uncoiled his whip and the lash whistled through the air and wrapped itself around Yad's chest. The heavy man grasped the leather rope and held on as Daniel and Mingo pulled him free. Just as Daniel grabbed his friend's arm the earth fell away at Yad's feet. Mingo threw himself backwards and Yad fell on top of him. The three men lay panting for several seconds. They could hear the soil continuing to slide into the gaping hole.

"Dan'l, that's as close to Hell as I ever hope to come," Yadkin said softly. "Thanks, Mingo. You saved me for sure. I won't forget it neither."

"You're welcome, Yad. Now please allow me to rise. You're uncomfortably heavy."

Yadkin pushed himself off of Mingo and helped the Cherokee to stand. Daniel stood beside the two brushing the leaf litter off of his shirt. Heavy cold raindrops began to fall through the trees as lightning snaked above them. The thunder shook the forest. Mingo and Dan quickly helped Yad gather the scattered wood he'd dropped. The three men entered the cave just as the sprinkles became a deluge.

The three members of the Moss family sat along the cave walls. Rocky continued his habit of sitting as far from Ivy as possible. The three friends all noticed his behavior and exchanged another uneasy look. Shaking his head, Daniel crushed the dried leaves stuck to his shirt to use as tinder and started a small fire. Mingo unpacked the corn meal. Yadkin took a flaming stick and explored farther into the cave. He yelled and the five people heard a heavy 'thunk'. Mingo met Yad as he returned to the fire carrying a large rattlesnake.

"Meat, Dan'l. Here's one o' them buggers'll not be botherin' nobody tonight."

The Mosses all looked at the dead reptile, their mouths screwed into expressions of revulsion. Yadkin drew his large knife and went to the cave mouth to clean the snake. Mingo readied the frying pan to accept the meat. Yadkin soon returned with two dozen strips of snake meat which he cut to sizzle in the pan. Daniel mixed a batter and stirred it into the skillet. The coffee boiled and the six people sat quietly to eat their meal as the rain poured down and thunder echoed off the cave's limestone walls.

After eating the Mosses and the Kentuckians sat quietly together. The fire snapped and released its welcome warmth. Ivy sat close to it and absorbed the heat. Rocky sat far back in the darkness. Mrs. Moss leaned against the cave wall and dozed. Mingo and Daniel did likewise. Yadkin sat across from Ivy, his face reflecting the thoughts buzzing through his head. Finally he looked at the girl and asked the question on his mind.

"Miss Ivy, why do folks think you're a jinx?"

Ivy swallowed and looked uncomfortable. She looked into the fire for so long that Yad thought the girl wasn't going to answer. Finally she cleared her throat and spoke.

"Mr. Yadkin, ever since I was a little girl strange things happened around me. I was born on a Friday, the thirteenth of April. An old witch woman said I'd have unusual powers because of that. I don't believe it. Neither does my ma. But Rocky does."

Her voice caught and she continued. "We've moved all over because people think I'm strange. Ma told you about Tottenburg. But that's just the last town. We've moved more than twenty times that I remember. Always something happens and I get blamed. I wish I wasn't so different from other folks."

Yad could hear the sadness in her voice. He sighed. "Miss Ivy, I don't think you're strange. I think you're a right pretty girl and someday someb'dy else'll think so too, and you'll settle down and have a nice family. You'll see. Maybe Boonesborough is just the place for you."

Ivy raised her odd green eyes to Yad's. She smiled shyly. Yad felt a cold chill run up his spine. He shifted closer to the fire. Just then a vein of pine resin popped and hit Yad under the left eye. He yelped and jumped to his feet, brushing the burning spark from his stinging cheek. Everyone in the cave jerked awake. From far back in the cave's dark shadows Rocky snorted.

The bright sunlight wakened Daniel first. He was closest to the cave mouth. He sat up and stretched his long arms. Beside him Mingo roused and stretched. The two men glanced at the raw burn under Yadkin's eye. It was the size of a shilling and bright red even though Mingo had slathered it with mud last night. Mingo shook his head and went outside. Daniel followed shortly. Mingo was standing enjoying the peace of the early morning. He beckoned Daniel to his side.

"Daniel, I'm not foolish enough to disbelieve Ivy's strangeness nor wise enough to explain it. But it seems to be real enough. I admit that I'll be much relieved to be free of her company."

Daniel looked into his friend's dark eyes. He knew that Mingo had a deep distrust of the supernatural. Yet he had to admit that something strange was happening. And he too wanted to be free of Ivy's company. And of her mother's. He could hear her forceful voice admonishing Yadkin to wash the burn and apply an ointment that she guaranteed would heal the wound. Yadkin was doing everything in his power to escape her unwelcome attention. They wrestled to the mouth of the cave where Yad implored Daniel for help.

"Mrs. Moss, Yad's been burned before. I'm sure he'll heal just fine. But thanks all the same." Daniel's diplomatic voice overrode Milly Moss and gave Yad the chance to escape. He dashed past Mingo and disappeared into the forest shade. Mingo watched his friend for several seconds, then turned to start the day's breakfast.

A short hour later the company was plodding through the wet woods towards Boonesborough. Rocky's injured leg slowed them down and the walk soon became a leisurely jaunt through the fragrant forest. Ivy walked quietly beside her mother. Mingo and Daniel brought up the rear. The two friends appreciated the silence and each man entertained welcome thoughts of home.

Suddenly Mingo grabbed Daniel's arm. The tall frontiersman reacted at the same time, pushing Mingo aside just as the large dead tree crashed to earth between them. The sound reverberated through the quiet forest. The Moss family turned to stare at the two Kentuckians sprawled several feet apart with the massive tree trunk between them. The two men rose slowly, both faces pale with the understanding that they had barely escaped serious injury or even death.

Rocky shook his head and hobbled on his journey. Milly and Ivy came to stand by the two men. "Well, for two men's supposed to be at home in the woods, I'd say that there tree about got cha. Lucky this time, weren't cha?" She slapped Daniel on the back. "And you too, Injun. Almost met your maker, din' cha?" She hoisted her skirt, shook her head and pulled Ivy to follow Rocky through the trees.

Daniel brushed the debris off his clothes as Mingo picked twigs from his long black hair. Stepping close to Daniel, he parodied Milly Moss. " 'Lucky, we was.' Lucky Ivy wasn't standing beside us! We'd of been crushed for sure."

"Oh, Mingo, that girl had nothin' to do with the tree fallin' and you know it. It's an old rotten tree and the rain loosened the soil around the roots."

Mingo looked several seconds into Daniel's green eyes, then rolled his own. "Have it your way Daniel. But I'm going to go find Yadkin and walk as far ahead of that girl as possible! I'll see you at noon, old friend. And watch your back!"

Mingo was true to his word. He trotted past the Mosses and disappeared into the thick forest. Soon even the sound of his passing ceased. Daniel walked behind his three charges, carefully looking ahead for any sign of trouble. His back he trusted to Providence.

At noon the Moss family and Daniel found the camp built by Yadkin and Mingo. They were roasting a fat turkey and had the coffee pot bubbling. The two friends were sitting side by side obviously enjoying each other's company. They politely rose as the four travelers arrived in their camp. Rocky sank gratefully onto the damp ground. Mingo courteously pulled a log near the fire for Ivy and Milly to sit upon. Yadkin handed out the roasted turkey and cups of coffee. Milly and Ivy shared one, Rocky shared with Yad, and Mingo and Daniel drank from the same cup. The afternoon was warm and soon the two women were nodding on the log.

"Mrs. Moss, we don't have to go as fast as we're goin'. I tend to forget that I've got long legs, and so do Mingo and Yad. And we're all three used to walkin' for days. Please forgive me for settin' too fast a pace."

"Don't fret young fella. But I do admit I'm bushed. Ivy too. And my boy's leg is painin' him right fierce. If you could see your way to restin' an hour so, I'd be much obliged."

Daniel nodded and helped Milly lean back against a nearby tree. Ivy sat beside her mother and was asleep in minutes. Rocky sat propped against the log near the fire. He unwound the cloth from his leg. The three frontiersmen could tell that the wound wasn't healing well. Mingo and Daniel looked at each other. Beside them Yad cleared his throat.

"Young fella, that leg needs some doctorin'. What happened to you anyways?"

Rocky pursed his lips, closed his eyes and leaned back against the log. After several seconds he opened his eyes and looked into Yadkin's ruddy face. "When the wagon went over the edge I tried to stop it. I got pulled a ways and a stick on the ground stabbed into my leg. It hurt like the devil and I bled like a stuck pig. Ma wrapped it up tight and the bleedin' stopped after a while. But it still seeps and hurts pretty bad. I reckon I just need to rest a spell."

Mingo walked to his pack and removed his packet of tea. Pouring the last of the coffee into the tin cups he walked the hundred yards to the rainfilled pond and returned to camp with a full pot of water. He set the pot in the fire and dropped in the entire packet of tea. Daniel pulled his shirt out of his pants and tore off a six inch wide piece all around the bottom. When the tea had boiled for several minutes Mingo removed the pot and allowed the brew to cool. Daniel pushed the cloth piece into the strong tea and together he, Mingo and Yad doctored the deep wound in the boy's thigh.

Rocky sucked in his breath and bit his lip in pain. The three men as gently as possible cleaned the dirt from the wound and squeezed the tea into the hole. The muscle in the boy's leg jumped and twitched but quieted after several minutes. Rocky sighed deeply and fell asleep. Yad rewrapped the leg and then the three friends spent the next hour building a drag for the boy. When Milly wakened she went to join them. Her face was soft and her eyes tender as she watched the three men working silently to help her son.

"Thank you all. You ain't got no call to be doin' that for us exceptin' you're all good Christian men. All exceptin' you, Injun, but I reckon you got a god that's proud o' you too. No offense meant."

Mingo glanced up at the soft words. "No offense taken, Madam. Your son has a serious injury and we are simply doing what is right. We would be poor men if we did not."

"I'd forgot what kind folks is like. You three've given us back our faith in people. Maybe someday when we get settled we can have you all over to dinner. I'm a right fair cook when I'm settled." Her light blue eyes twinkled. "But I ain't cookin' you rattlesnake!"

Yadkin's lips lifted in fun as he replied. "But Miz Moss, rattlesnake's my fav'rite meal!" Milly's light laugh made the three men smile. From beside the tree Ivy's breathless giggle sounded. Mingo finished lashing the branches to the drag as Daniel bent to help Rocky stand and Yadkin wedged the coffee pot containing the tea against the frame. Then Daniel and Yad each took a pole and Mingo helped the young man lie on the drag.

Gathering all three guns Mingo led the way into the late afternoon light. He purposely picked the smoothest route for the drag and the procession slowly walked westward into the setting sun.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Three days later the company stopped beside a small river. The clear bubbling water splashed with a soothing sound. There had been a series of minor calamities each day, from Mingo's vest scattering beads to Daniel's shot pouch bursting a seam. There was one near major calamity as the drag unexplainedly dropped one of the poles of the main frame. But Rocky managed to get his good leg underneath him before the drag dipped him. As evening fell on the third day the six companions each did their part to set up the wilderness camp. Mingo and Yad gathered firewood, Daniel stepped into the woods to hunt for fresh meat, Milly and Ivy dipped water and started the coffee while Rocky built a fire ring. The coffee was boiling over a crackling fire when Daniel returned with a plump yearling deer.

After roasting the venison on sharpened sticks the six hungry people ate their fill. Sighing with contentment Milly and Ivy snuggled down in their blankets and fell instantly asleep. Rocky slowly circled outside the camp to stretch his healing leg. Mingo, Yad and Daniel all sat drinking the last of the coffee and enjoying the mid-summer twilight.

Suddenly Rocky shouted and came limping back to the camp as fast as possible. The unmistakable odor of skunk spray permeated the air. The three men dropped their cups and dashed several yards away from the unfortunate boy. Milly sat up bewildered as her eyes began to water from the smell. Ivy groaned and buried her nose in the blanket.

The three friends looked long into each other's eyes. Then they took deep breaths and went to strip Rocky. With tears running down their faces, taking quick shallow breaths, the three accomplished their task in only seconds. Daniel dragged the gagging boy to the little river and tossed him in. Using their tin plates and knives Yad and Mingo soon dug a ditch several yards downwind from the camp and buried Rocky's clothes. Dan remained sitting on the bank reassuring the miserable boy that they were doing all they could to help. Holding her nose Milly strode to sit beside Daniel and add her comforting words to the boy.

"Why son, I remember when our old hound Rove got hisself sprayed. You was only a mite of a boy. We had to tie that dog in the woods for days before the stink wore off! Your daddy had to hold his nose ever' time he took that dog food or water. Reckon you won't be fit to sit beside ary one for days yourself. But somebody'll see you get food and water, so don't you fret."

Sitting in the cold river, the odor of skunk wafting up from his goosepimpled skin, the suffering boy could only groan. Daniel walked back into camp and threw more sticks on the fading fire. Then he took the boy's blanket to the river and pulled the shivering boy up the bank. Breathing as shallowly as possible Dan helped Rocky sit on the side of the fire downwind of everyone else. He handed the embarrassed youth the last cup of coffee. Yad and Mingo returned from their task also smelling of skunk spray. Wordlessly they walked to the river and plunged in. A quarter of an hour later they reappeared dripping and shivering to sit before the fire. Their wet buckskin clothing steamed and released another distinctive odor.

Yad sat with his eyes closed. Mingo stared into the fire, his lips pursed in an expression of annoyance. Milly and Ivy pulled their blankets several yards upwind and lay back down. Daniel nodded to his two friends and did the same.

"Rocky," Mingo's voice was tinged with aggravation. "Tell us what happened to you on the trail. Tell us everything. All of it."

With a deep heavy sigh the shivering boy began his tale.

Only one day out of Tottenburg Rocky had tumbled into the morning campfire after tripping over a small stone partially buried in the dirt of their campsite. Milly's left arm had been nearly wrenched out of its socket that same afternoon when she slipped down a hillside and grabbed hold of a shrub to break her fall.

On Thursday the spotted ox stepped carelessly and wedged his near front foot between two rocks. When Rocky pulled the animal's foot loose the ox knocked him over and he hit his head on one of the rocks. Coming to help him Milly tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground and her gun discharged its load of buckshot into the red ox's side. The red ox charged forward, breaking the wagon tongue and sending the wagon down a steep hillside. Trying to stop the wagon Rocky injured his leg. The wagon was badly damaged and most of their supplies were scattered or destroyed in the process.

Friday dawned damply and the three decided to rest until Rocky's leg quit bleeding. Milly fell asleep in a soft bed of lush grass. The sun came out and burned her before she woke up. That evening the three camped at the bottom of the hill next to the broken wagon. A swarm of mosquitoes gave Rocky and Milly several bites apiece. The three Kentuckians found them the following morning.

Rocky's voice was tinged with warning. "You've seen what kinda things happen to us. If you two fellas got any sense left you'll leave us here and run. And I wouldn't call you cowards neither. I'd run if I could." The boy sat slumped despondently before the dying fire. Mingo and Yad exchanged a look of frustration.

Mingo rose, grabbed his blanket and walked silently into the Kentucky darkness. Yad stood a few seconds, then patted the young man's shoulder. "Don't fret, youngster. Me and my friends been through some troubles ourselves, and we don't run away from 'em. We'll get you safe to Boonesborough. Now stretch out there and get some sleep. Good night." Taking his blanket Yad followed Mingo into the darkness. Rocky sat for several more minutes, then scooted down and tried to ignore the smell wafting up from his skunk-scented skin.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The troop arrived in Boonesborough three days later. Mingo was limping from a sprained right ankle he'd injured trying to keep blanket-wrapped Rocky from being mauled by an enraged raccoon. Daniel was nursing several cracked ribs received after he'd fallen out of a tree trying to escape a charging bear. Yad's left arm was in a sling from a wound he'd sustained after his own gun slipped from his hand and fired.

Milly's skin was on fire from hundreds of chigger bites gotten after she ran into a meadow of wildflowers trying to evade a swarm of yellowjackets. And Rocky's head, shoulders and arms were bandaged from the raccoon mauling. Ivy remained completely uninjured. By mutual consent the miserable girl walked several feet behind the rest of her companions.

Cincinnatus provided a supper and clean room for the weary family. Daniel, Mingo and Yadkin limped on to Daniel's house where Becky spent more than an hour doctoring the grumpy trio. Israel stood beside her, watching her careful ministrations and listening to the three men exchange observations about the Moss family. Finally Becky rose and defended them. All three men turned on her and made her understand in no uncertain terms that she was wrong. And if she doubted them, she could go to Cincinnatus' tavern and find out for herself. That is, if Cincinnatus' tavern was still there in the morning.

Groaning, Daniel lay down on his bed and relaxed. Mingo limped out to his lean-to near the house. Yad stretched out on the porch, his wounded arm propped on one of Becky's sacks of meal. The pretty woman nursed her hurt feelings alone by the fire. The three men's vehemence had surprised and overwhelmed her. She had never known Daniel, or Mingo either, to speak so harshly about a helpless family. In the loft Israel pondered the same observation. Before the next evening the two Boone's would have their answer.

Early the next morning after fixing breakfast for the three silent men Becky walked the short distance to Cincinnatus' tavern. Israel had begged to come along and ambled beside her, switching the heads off the flowering daisies. As she entered the stockade she heard a loud rumbling crash and a voice raised in anger. Hurrying to the large log tavern she opened the door to a scene of carnage. The stairs to Cincinnatus' upstairs room had collapsed and taken most of his stock of jugs and glassware with it. In the open doorway of the upstairs room Becky could see three white faces. Cincinnatus was standing beside his bar, the words pouring forth in a torrent. Becky clapped her hands over Israel's ears and pulled the grinning boy out of the ruined taproom.

A crowd gathered beside her and several men pushed their way into the taproom. The dust was settling as the entire company stood open-mouthed at the spectacle. Finally Cinncinatus pushed his way through the crowd and out the door. Two men left the room to grab one of the stockade's ladders. After several minutes they were back and a dozen men helped hold the ladder steady as Rocky, Milly and Ivy climbed carefully down. Just as Ivy's foot touched the floor the door burst inward and Cincinnatus came in followed by Dan, Yad and Mingo. The three battered men took in the entire scene, then turned to look at each other in disbelief. Becky silently stood beside Dan, Israel's arm held firmly in her left hand.

Daniel bent to his wife and whispered in her ear, "Now see what we've been tellin' you? The whole trip here was like this. There's no explain' it, Becky. There just isn't."

Becky pursed her lips in disagreement. "Dan, one little girl can't be the cause of such things. It just isn't reasonable." Dropping Israel's arm she walked to Ivy's side, her head high and her red hair shining in the morning light. "Come on out and stay at our place. You are welcome until we can get a cabin built for you."

Becky did not even look at Daniel as she pulled Ivy past him out the door. Milly followed. Rocky stood inside the wrecked tavern for several seconds, looking into Daniel's eyes with a look of sympathy. Then he hitched his borrowed trousers and limped out the door to follow his family. Daniel turned to the two friends at his side.

"Boys, just how fast do you think we can build a cabin?"

Mingo's eyes followed the Moss family as they passed through the stockade walls. Beside him Yad answered his friend. "Dan'l, if'n we get started now and don't stop for nothin' but dark I reckon we could get one built in about five days. Less if'n we get some of these folks to help." He turned to the company standing before him, the shock still evident on their faces. "What do you say, fellas? The sooner we get them out of Dan'l's cabin, the sooner the poor man can be at peace."

Phillip Hamblin spoke for the assembly. "Let's get crackin' then. And let's build it as far away as possible from the rest of us!" The Boonesborough men scattered to grab as many tools as they could lay their hands on and were already cutting trees before another hour was past.

The Moss cabin was built in less than three days. Everyone in the settlement worked on the project. The women cooked for their men and Mingo kept a steady supply of meat ready for them. Daniel's cabin had sustained a broken shutter, a sagging porch, and a fire-blackened chimney but it was still inhabitable. Two of Becky's treasured blue plates had broken and one sack of sugar had split open for no obvious reason, but the frontier woman refused to admit anything unusual was happening. She maintained that position until the afternoon of the third day when the spindle on her spinning wheel flew off and shattered the little china figure setting on the corner shelf. Milly turned from the bubbling kettle she was tending and shook her head. Ivy sat quietly in the settee with her small hands in her lap. Becky's bright blue eyes filled with tears as she gathered the pieces of the treasured china figure.

"Sure am sorry, Mrs. Boone. Freaky thing that was. Never seen nothin' like it afore." Milly patted Becky's shoulder in sympathy. Becky walked out onto her sagging porch and dabbed her eyes with the hem of her apron. She saw Dan approaching from the west and ran to meet him.

"Dan, you're right and I don't understand how. But I don't know how much longer I can stand having that girl around me. We won't have anything left in a few days!"

Dan patted Becky's shoulder and pulled her to walk beside him. He looked down and saw the tears sparkling in her blue Irish eyes. Sympathy coursed through him and he spoke the words she most wanted to hear. "Becky, they'll be gone tomorrow. We finished the cabin and we'll move 'em in the mornin'."

Becky stopped walking and buried her head against Dan's chest. She sniffed and wiped her nose with her apron hem. He patted her back affectionately and together they stepped onto the leaning porch and walked into their embattled cabin.

Up before dawn, Becky made a hearty breakfast and hovered over her guests impatiently. Dan, Yad and Mingo all ate quickly, their eyes darting to Ivy's face every few seconds as they clutched their forks tightly. They sat and drank their tea as they waited for Milly, Rocky and Ivy to finish their meal. As soon as Milly laid down her fork all three sprang up from the table and began gathering the Moss's belongings.

Becky stood in her doorway waving goodbye with more gusto than Dan had ever seen. He smiled to himself, turned and waved at his weary wife. She blew him a kiss and disappeared back into her quiet cabin. In his mind Dan could see her sitting beside the fire, enjoying the quiet and eating the last sausage patty in peace. She deserved it.

The Mosses expressed their delight in their new cabin and invited the three men to stay and have a cup of coffee. But the three declined as politely as possible and all but ran the thirty yards back to the sheltering forest. Safely out of disaster range the three friends stopped to discuss their recent experiences in the company of the Moss family.

"Daniel, I like to think that I am a reasonable man and somewhat educated. But never in my life have I experienced anything like these past two weeks. And I hope that I never do again!"

"You're sure right about that, Mingo. I never would have believed it if I hadn't aseen it with my own two eyes."

"Your good eye, you mean. But Ivy's sure a pretty little gal."

"Dan'l, that little gal is easy on the eyes but a blight on the rest of a man!"

Daniel laughed and turned back toward his own home. Mingo limped on his left side and Yad's wounded arm brushed his right. The three bewildered men slowly tracked through the dense Kentucky forest toward the Boone cabin. Behind them inside the new cabin they heard a crash. Exchanging a quick look, all three men moved as fast as it was possible to do, their bravery sacrificed to the little slip of a girl named Ivy.


End file.
